Brain Health
Attention Deficit
Sprouting Wings
One of my favorite (and relatively unknown) magazines is called Plain Values. If you want to fill your mind with all that is good, give them a try. Beautiful article written by singer songwriter Rory Feek.
https://plainvalues.com/joeyrory-sprouting-wings/
#yourbrainisaspongegiveitgoodfood
#whatyoureyesseeandearshearmatter
Health Clues from Temperature-part 1
Body Temperature Part I: The Truth about 98.6
Usually when we talk about temperature it’s generally in relation to illness or fertility. You’ve heard people say, “My body temperature just runs low.”, and we accept that as “normal” for them. Heck, I was one of those people too, until I learned the truth.
I’m no physics expert, but we’re gonna talk about some very basic physics and biology “laws” for just a hot minute. I promise to keep it simple. Understanding these principles will help seal this information into your memory.
Temperature is an indicator of heat in a system.
Heat is energy.
Vibration produces heat.
Cells vibrate, and in doing so, produce heat.
Every cellular reaction in the body occurs optimally (key word!) at a specific “heat” level.
Energy (heat) produces cell voltage (imagine a cell has a battery) which alters the pH of the body.
The vibration of molecules within cells is measured electrically. The “hertz” unit is used to measure electrical vibrations (known as frequency).
If the production of energy (heat) drops in the body, cellular vibrations have slowed down and frequency (measured in hertz/ Htz) and pH are affected.
Low frequency and an acidic pH are associated with cancer, chronic disease, and mental health issues.
How’s that for a nutshell version of a basic Law of Thermodynamics and its relationship to mammal biology?
Beyond the microscopic view of body temperature, there are certainly other factors at play:
The hypothalamus (located in the brain) directs the opening and closing of blood flow to the skin. It works in tandem with the thyroid and other tiny but mighty glands and organs. Damage to any of them may affect body temperature.
Stress also interferes with, and drives down body temperature. Cold hand and/or feet are often a reflection of stress response. Conversely, warmer hands/feet indicate relaxation. We can grow used to living with chronic stress, but the body doesn’t lie.
Adrenal fatigue or insufficiency
Hormone imbalance (commonly low progesterone or estrogen dominance in women, or low testosterone in men)Unresolved emotional trauma
Heavy metal or chemical toxicity (including medications)
Some people may be born with a lower body temperature. This may be due to any of the above. Do not minimize the generational impact of toxins, unresolved emotional trauma, energetically dead food, and poor water quality on babies!
Chronic low body temperature is often a common clue or symptom of a known (or yet unknown) disorder or distress. Dr. David Jernigan writes, “The colder a body becomes, the slower the electrical oscillatory rate and therefore the thicker, more viscous, or syrupy the body fluids become. The more viscous the fluids become the more difficult it is for the body to push the fluids through the body. The lymph fluids that are normally supposed to bathe the outsides of all of your cells become progressively stagnant as it is too thick to move efficiently.”
Jernigan’s illustration above is a graphic description of what happens when body fluids become stagnant. If low body temperature becomes a chronic issue, several things begin happening:
The body becomes a home for viruses, certain bacteria, and chronic infection
Gradual cellular death (without regeneration) begins to happen
Actions of enzymes, vitamins, minerals, hormones, neurotransmitters and other body essential chemicals are compromised
Acidity of the body increases and serious disorders and diseases begin appearing.
Frequency of the body drops and negative emotions begin to predominate
It becomes even harder for the body to spit out toxins
Smooth muscle tone is affected and fluid begins leaking out into tissue and edema results
Can chronic low body temperature be corrected? You bet it can, and we’re going to discuss that next week! Remember, the wall around Jerusalem didn’t get destroyed in a single day and it wasn’t rebuilt in a single day either! And, Nehemiah didn’t do it alone. He sought out a community of like minded people with different skill sets to help him rebuild, and they persevered… even despite toxic (both physical and emotional) onslaught in the process. Your life is a story of clues, and although God is the ultimate author of each of our stories, the choices we make play a huge part in the writing of it!
xoxo~ liz
#checkyourtemp#sharingiscaring#98point6isgoodmedicine#ditchthetoxinsifyouhaventalready#thanksYL#youarethecoauthorofyourstory#becomingyourownhealthdetective
Dopamine Deficiency Part III: Solutions
Discussing solutions is one of my favorite topics to write about, but if we didn’t first identify root causes, how would what we are doing be any different than the tendency to bandage a festering abscess? Solutions can be clues all on their own too, right? I ask that you be mindful of three things while navigating and identifying ways to improve and support healthy dopamine levels:
Would I be prone to developing an addictive tendency to something I already particularly enjoy? (Too much of a good thing makes it not necessarily a good thing.)
Am I willing to step outside of my comfort zone in the pursuit of happiness and improved dopamine balance in the body?
There is no magic “one hit wonder”. Lifestyle is where the sweet spot lies….. Just as it took every single person doing their part in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem (read Nehemiah 3 sometime!), it takes symphonic effort to succeed in body balance! Now, on to the fun stuff!
Exercise: Exercise slows the breakdown of dopamine in the body, and helps prevent loss of dopaminergic brain cells. You may have heard of the “runner’s high”. There are several neurotransmitters involved in this sensation of feeling great, and dopamine is one of them. The brain is literally washed with dopamine in these moments. If strenuous exercise is new to you, start with walking, yoga, pilates, or aquatic exercise. Mild exercise causes dopamine release too. Bonus points for exercise outdoors and with a group of friends!
Learn something new: Learning a new skill (language, hobby, sport, or activity) or simply learning new information causes dopamine to be released. It’s very likely happening right now as you read this information! You’ve heard of “seminar highs” or research junkies (yep, this is one area I receive a huge dopamine dump from!). When the dopamine release happens, it makes you want to learn more and repeat the experience. Bonus points…. The more you engage in learning new things, the stronger your brain gets too!
Vitamin D: Vitamin D has a role in the production of dopamine and in also protecting dopamine receptors. Evidence suggests that supporting healthy Vitamin D levels also supports healthy dopamine levels, especially if clinically deficient in Vitamin D. Make sure to ask for Vitamin D levels whenever you have the opportunity to get labwork! Young Living’s Super D is most bioavailable when it is dissolved in the cheek or under the tongue.
Phenylalanine and tyrosine are two amino acids used in the biosynthesis of dopamine. Foods high in phenylalanine and/or tyrosine include meats, beans, milk, nuts, seeds, whole grains, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, cherries, eggs, yogurt, and NingXia Wolfberries! Supporting healthy dopamine production is just one more reason to get your ounce or two (or four!) of NingXia Red every day!
Increasing Vagal Tone: There is a direct correlation between low vagal tone and lower levels of dopamine. You’ll want to go back and review ALL the wonderful and fun ways you can improve vagal tone! (We talked about this a few months ago….use the search option in this group to find the posts.)
Uridine is a supplement. It’s also found in beer, brewer’s yeast and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is not the same yeast that bakers use. If you do a little digging, you’ll find recipes incorporating nutritional yeast into tasty options.
Here’s a quick recipe for Caesar Salad Dressing:1 & ½ cups extra virgin olive oil¾ cup coconut milk½ avocadoJuice of one lemon1 tsp balsamic vinegar3 cloves of garlic2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast¾ tsp sea salt or pink saltA toothpick swirl or two of Young Living oregano vitality essential oil (1 drop might be WAY strong!)½ tsp onion powder(Use organic ingredients whenever possible). Put all ingredients (except olive oil) into a blender and blend til smooth. Slowly add in olive oil while blender is running at low speed. Stores up to one week in the fridge. Note: may also be used for a dipping sauce!
Cryotherapy: You’ve seen advertisements for it I’m sure. Be brave and consider giving it a try! Remember, simply exploring something new increases dopamine in the brain. Ice water immersion (or cryotherapy tanks) increase dopamine by an estimated 250%! Yowza! I am a fan of cryo….. I find it both terrifying and exhilarating (probably from that ginormous dopamine dump I received!)
Intermittent Fasting not only leads to higher levels of dopamine release; it also reduces age related dopamine receptor attrition. There are many additional reasons to incorporate intermittent fasting into your lifestyle if you’ve not considered it before now.
Curcumin is the yellow pigment found in turmeric. Curcumin reduces the metabolism of dopamine in the brain thereby increasing levels. YL Golden Turmeric or Spiced Turmeric Vitality Tea for the win! You might also consider adding Golden Turmeric to yogurt or smoothies!We’re about halfway through this pretty amazing dopamine support list! Next week we’ll wrap up with more simple and inexpensive ways to support this happy hormone.
xoxo, liz #caringissharing#knowbetterdobetter#dopamineisdope#balanceddopamineisgoodmedicine#goodmedicine#BecomingYourOwnHealthDetective#ThanksYL